Botcon 2015 - Chicago June 18-21

[Megatran]

This is new to me. How do I get my hands on:
The Boss (Megatron)
Stepper

[UltraMarginal]

The convention box set is sold as a box set, those who buy the box set generally have the option to buy a loose bagged set while stocks last. The only way you can cherry pick from the set is if someone else offers the individual figures on the aftermarket.

These are the only figures revealed before the convention.

At the convention they reveal the exclusive attendee freebie figure and convention souvenir figures. there are normally 3 different souvenir sets sold in bags. they usually average out to $100US per bag.

the initial visit to the convention store only allows an attendee to pick up one of everything, which unless they don't want it themselves is all going to be for them. Golden ticket holders can get 3 or each of the exclusives, but they are paying an extra US$400 for the privilege so if you are buying these from someone be prepared to help cover the convenience tax.

I recommend reading through some of Griffins previous Botcon trip reports and botcon preparation posts.

here
here
here and
here.

There are only a couple people going to the convention and shopping at the club store during the convention weekend is a time consuming thing that will generally use up valuable time that could be used going to panels, getting guest signatures, meeting artists or checking out the art competition entries or any of the other displays around the convention. Keep in mind that if someone does offer to pick something up for you, they will need to travel with it as well.

Having said that, people here tend to be happy to go out of their way for others, if someone offers to pick stuff up for you, it's not guaranteed till they do get hold of it, they might get sidetracked with convention events, or the item might even sell out. Either way it's nice to make sure you make it clear how appreciative you are of their efforts, even if you end up with nothing to show for it.

Alternate avenues are through retailers like BBTS, the chosen prime, Tf source or maybe Robotkingdom.




@reillyd, if you do go, I recommend packing one big bag lightly and buying a box there for your second bag on the way home. packing and storage companies tend to sell boxes that exactly meet the maximum dimension requirements for international travel. you just need to make sure any connecting 'domestic' flights you have will accept the same bags. this is usually the case but worth making sure with your travel agent before you leave.

Keep in mind you should be able to bring your convention box set on board as your personal item as well as a small piece of carry on luggage(backpack). in the past I've taken either bubble wrap or Styrofoam sheet to wrap it in and put inside a large paper shopping bag to then carry on. a great way of protecting it during international travel.

[reillyd]

I'm still on the fence about going, but will stop off at the travel centre this afternoon and see if I can get hotel bookings. I know registration will go up soon, but am worried that the customising class will sell out while I'm asleep.
If I can't enroll I think I'll just order a non attending package and ebay the attendee figure
Does it usually go quickly? I know Griffin you went last time - any idea how long it lasted before selling out?

[UltraMarginal]

back in 2011, the custom class sold out in less than an hour, but since then it is more than double the number of seats and Funpub have made the figure available as a pre-assembled unpainted figure which reduces the demand for the class. it still sells out, but I think it takes at lest a few hours now.

in past years I've shared my number with those planning on going and we've sms's each other as soon as we've seen that rego is open, it has allowed people to get on and register early.

I actively follow the club and Botcon on Twitter so if you like you can PM me your number and when I see it's live I can sms you to make sure you're up. it usually happens between about 7 and 9 am here. and might happen tomorrow, or it might happen next week, or some time later

the brochure has been out for pretty much a week now so they are likely to pull the trigger on registration sooner rather than later.

[griffin]

My feeling is Saturday morning (our time), as they often like to open it up on Friday afternoon (their time)... so that their office isn't inundated with phone-calls for help.

They did say recently that it wouldn't be before Thursday (their time), so it is possible that they might open it up during their Thursday... which means any time from now really. But they had so many problems with their JoeCon registration last month, this one could be delayed for any number of weeks as well.

So keep checking their twitter, as last year they gave us about 8 hours notice before it started. And have your credit card ready with plenty of available credit.

BTW, if you are planning on going or getting a non-attendee set, make sure your membership is bought and activated before Registration begins.

[reillyd]

Thank you for the kind offer UltraMarginal, that would be awesome. I'll send you a PM now.

I'm paying for my plane tickets on Saturday, and decided to go regardless. But it would be cool to get into the custom class nonetheless

[fatbot]

No need to worry this week

Thank you for the kind offer UltraMarginal, that would be awesome. I'll send you a PM now.

I'm paying for my plane tickets on Saturday, and decided to go regardless. But it would be cool to get into the custom class nonetheless

are you going straight to Chicago or stopping off in LA first?
Either way, it's great news, one more Ozformer!

[CHILENO20]

Thank you for the kind offer UltraMarginal, that would be awesome. I'll send you a PM now.

I'm paying for my plane tickets on Saturday, and decided to go regardless. But it would be cool to get into the custom class nonetheless

Highly recommended the custom class if you can get in. I did it with UltraMarginal in 2011, lots of fun!

[reillyd]

are you going straight to Chicago or stopping off in LA first?
Either way, it's great news, one more Ozformer!

Straight to Chicago a few days before, and then a four day stop-over in LA to see Universal Studio's Transformers ride, and Disneyland's Star Wars one.

My travel agent is trying to get me some accomodation close to the the convention, as Pheasant and the surrounding hotels are booked out. I should have booked earlier, but it was a spontaneous decision.

[griffin]

Fatbot has a reservation at a nearby hotel, so maybe he can put your name on the registration, and if he ends up sharing with me you'd have it all to yourself... and if he doesn't share with me (or if something prevents me from going), he still has a room to fall back on that he could share with you.
That way he doesn't need to cancel the registration - having your name added to it means you both could use it if you need to, or just one of you without needing the other to check-in under their name.

But that's up to him, so maybe talk to him about it.